A Different Kind of Desire
by origin-of-promise
Summary: Sequel/companion to Empty Reflection. Chronicles Elyse's years as a sire, the vampiric life of her fledglings. Will hopefully sate everyone's disappointment at my ending ER too soon. Rated for romance, slash, violence. R&R!
1. New Life

**A/N: I'm not sure yet if this is a sequel to **_**Empty Reflection**_** or merely a companion; but regardless, it takes place after ER. There are some obvious differences: I changed the point of view. (It's in 3****rd**** person instead of 1st.) Elyse/Emma, although an important character, will probably not be the main one, since the chapter begins with her first fledgling's transformation. And there is slash. (I just couldn't resist.) But I hope you'll like it (I know I do.) Please review!**

**-K**

A Different Kind of Desire

The body slides to the ground with a thud in front of the sixteen year-old girl, who flinches and draws back into her long black hair. She is young, but old enough to understand the concept of murder, to realize that the corpse by her feet was just killed by the woman standing over her.

"Feed, sweetheart. Go ahead." The girl hates the smirk on that woman's beautiful lips. The stranger is mocking her. Her forehead tingles uncomfortably for a brief second. "Corinne. _Drink_."

How does the woman know her name? Before a few hours ago they'd never even laid eyes on each other.

"You _killed_ him," Corinne protests. She realizes this argument is stupid when she closes her lips and remembers she isn't breathing, either. "You killed _me_," she whispers.

The woman before her laughs aloud; her eyes shine in the scant light of the streetlamp. "I changed you, Corinne," she purrs, her voice sickeningly sweet. "There's a difference."

Corinne hates this woman, but can't ignore the burning in her stomach. It is not quite hunger but something else…a thirst, and when she turns her attention to it, the body in front of her looks inappropriately inviting. She licks her lips. Her eyes roam over his face, follow his jaw line down to his neck. She leans forward involuntarily and realizes he is not quite dead yet; she can hear his heartbeat, excruciatingly slow. The sound is enticing. Her hand inches forward, her palm scraping across the gritty asphalt, the pieces of loose gravel sticking to her skin. The young man's skin is still warm.

The woman's hand enters Corinne's vision and strokes her prey's throat. (Her _prey_? When did she begin calling it that? Why does that not sound right?) Two elegant fingers flex and a pair of sharp, manicured nails cut into the flesh of the neck; thick, red blood oozes out of the cut. Corinne shudders, entranced.

"I don't…"

Her objection is less than feeble; the sight of the blood is entirely too lovely. Without missing a beat, the sixteen year-old is suddenly upon the corpse, her lips latched onto his throat like a hungry leech. It isn't a choice, but more of a reflex that makes her _push_ her teeth into the man's vein. The blood spills over her tongue and she swallows it without a thought otherwise. It is _so good_, and she comes to the realization of how _painful_ the thirst ache was as she fills her belly with crimson life.

He's drained before Corinne is satisfied. She lifts her head, sits back on her haunches, stares at the woman that made her like this. Blood paints Corinne's lips and drips sluggishly down her chin.

"Who are you?"

The woman tosses her dark gold curls back and smiles viciously. Her teeth glisten in the moonlight, white, unlike the red-stained teeth of the child. "Elyse, my child, obedient little one. You are my fledgling."

Corinne accepts this with barely a blink of an eye (she is transformed). She licks her lips again, laps up the remainder of the blood. "I want more," she murmurs in reply. The bloodlust is still growling in her gut. She knows it won't leave her alone unless she feeds again.

Elyse smiles and holds out an icy hand. "Get up, my fledgling." Corinne reaches bloody fingers towards the woman from her position crouched on the ground (like an animal). When she stands, the grungy light reveals that her white shirt is smeared with the man's blood.

"What do we do with him?" The question is drawled and as casual as if she were asking what to do with the leftover food from dinner: _do we put it in the refrigerator?_

"I'll take care of it," Elyse whispers, baring her teeth. And she does. As Corinne watches, the vampire picks up the lifeless body and wipes off the blood on his skin as if caressing him, then dumps him ungraciously in the dumpster that shares this side street with them. She closes the top, sliding it shut with a clang.

Corinne giggles. "Somebody will find him."

A shrug. "There is no evidence." She looks down at the girl's shirt. "You might want to get rid of that; it might alarm the mortals."

"There is nothing underneath," Corinne objects, but the problem is solved when her sire slides off her jacket and hands it over. The younger girl takes off her shirt and pushes it into the dumpster after the man, unbothered by the fact that she is nearly naked in front of another woman. She puts on the coat and buttons it, then meets Elyse's eyes and smiles.

"What now?"

-vVv-

Elyse contemplates setting her new fledgling loose on the city they are in, but she knows that would only result in disaster. She has to teach the child to hunt (when she was never taught herself).

The girl's porcelain skin is almost transparent in the darkness as they walk down the street together, gaits aligned and equally silent. Elyse swells with pride at the fact that she chose such a beautiful fledgling. And a strong one, too. Corinne was independent before her change, living alone because her family disowned her. She would not be missed (another plus). Now, her lovely, wine-red hair hangs straight down, framing her delicately sculpted face, and her ebony eyes shine with the bloodlust. Excitement emanates from her; she no longer doubts the fact that she must drink human blood. Elyse is wondering if that is because she has given into instinct, or she really has no qualms about killing, about draining someone dry for her own contentment.

The older vampire is a whisper in the new fledgling's mind; she smirks with the information she finds, leads her down the street, onto another. The roads turn and turn, melding into one another, making Corinne's head spin. Her thoughts are fully concentrated on the prospect of another meal; the thought of the blood is like a drug she cannot wait to take a hit of. Twisting side streets should not be a concern.

They walk into a bar. Corinne blinks at the noise, her vision focusing on the couples in front of her. Men grinding other men, two girls pressed up against the wall, faces less than an inch apart. The crowd downs drinks like water and absorbs the music, making it their own with the way their bodies sway. Corinne cannot help but lick her lips.

_A gay bar?_ She laughs, throwing her sire a sultry glance. _You are…quite daring, to take me here on my first hunt._

_I know what I saw in your thoughts,_ Elyse retorts, her tongue sharp. She pushes the girl into the crowd, then leans back against the doorframe to watch, a dangerous sneer lingering on her lips.

Corinne has been to a place like this before, once. She tries to push out the memory, because she has no wish to remember her best friend at a moment like this. The memory does remind her, however, of how easy it is to pick up someone at a gay bar. Her eyes sweep the crowd, but she is shorter than most and cannot see clearly above their heads. She opts for the bar.

Elyse's jacket stretches tightly over Corinne's breasts as she climbs onto a stool; immediately, she feels eyes on her. Almost laughs. It is the barista staring at her. The young vampire meets the human's eyes and cricks a lip, leans forward slightly.

"You want something?" The young woman asks, coming over to Corinne. The fledgling rips carelessly through the human's mind and finds the desire, the need for physical contact, and grins.

"Nothing, unless you feel like taking a break." Her voice is a purr, just audible above the music's roar. The bartender blinks, her full lips settling into a smile.

"I can do that." The lust is so obvious, barely contained in her husky voice. Corinne nearly laughs.

She follows the human out a side door into an alley, the bloodlust leaving no room for guilt at what she is about to do. She lets her prey take the dominating role, allows herself to be pushed almost violently against the alley's wall. Warm lips smash hungrily against hers, the human's desperation more than tangible. This girl's need to be loved, if only for the 15 minutes of her break, is unbelievable. Corinne slides her tongue between the human's lips, revels in the excitement of kissing a complete stranger. She allows her prey's hands to wander, letting out a soft moan when the girl yanks Corinne's hips to her own. The vampire's hands dance at the nape of the girl's neck while the human fumbles with the buttons of Elyse's jacket.

This is Corinne's opening, and she knows it. Goes in for the chance, lets her lips leave the girl's and instead trails kisses down past her cheek, nibbles on her earlobe, feels her shiver. The pulse is strong and heated beneath the skin of her throat and there is heat between them as the human slips her hands onto Corinne's ice-cold skin beneath the jacket, beneath the bra. Before the distraction infests her, too, Corinne coats the human's mind with assurance and bites into the throat. The blood is fresh, so much better than the half-dead man's she consumed moments ago.

She drinks the human dry. Elyse did not tell her how to feed and keep her prey alive.

Corinne knows she is finished when the girl shudders in her arms and the fingers on her breasts go stiff, turn cold. The body falls limp; Corinne swallows and drops it. Wiping her mouth, she emerges into the streetlamp's light, in front of the bar's entrance. The fluorescent light buzzes, the electricity gone rampant. _Elyse?_ Her sire comes at her silent call, pushing through the bodies in front of the door to reach her fledgling. She looks Corinne up and down and the young vampire smiles a crooked smile.

Sated, she meets Elyse's gaze. The streetlight zaps out. "And now?"


	2. Bad Habits

**A/N: Here is the next chapter. I'm working on making them longer, but it's going to take a while (bear with me). Please review! -K**

She kicks open the scratched wooden door and shoulders her way into the apartment room, her hands full of groceries for her roommate. "Amelia!" she yells into the kitchen as the door slams behind her. "I'm back!" There is a clamor that sounds like pots from the next room and then footsteps. A tiny young woman emerges from the open doorway, bringing with her the aroma of cookies. Corinne shudders, puts the paper bags by her feet, presses her lips together. She won't be enjoying the taste of Amelia's baking anymore and she acknowledges this grudgingly, with only a bit of regret.

Amelia walks towards her and Corinne eyes the nineteen year-old. The two of them have been living together for a year, ever since Corinne's parents left her on the streets. The younger girl swallows, tries to memorize the inky color of Amelia's hair, swept up into a ponytail, the bangs falling over her brow and almost covering her eyes. Amelia is petite, sweet, dressed in a plaid dress, soft gray sweater, and brown boots. Corinne could undress her with her eyes, she knows this girl's body so well. Something stirs in her gut that has nothing to do with the bloodlust and everything to do with the memories of nights spent together, legs tangled, fingers entwined. Naked, the sheets kicked off of the two of them, fan whirring above them because the air conditioning is faulty in their cheap apartment. Corinne is bitter. There will be no more nights like that. She has to leave, because the longer she stays, the greater the chance she will hurt Amelia. Or kill her.

"Hi, Corinne," Amelia murmurs. She walks up to the vampire and kisses her on the mouth, tugging gently on her lower lip with her teeth. "How are you, sweetheart?" She bends down and picks up the groceries, then makes eye contact with her lover. Waiting for an answer.

"Amelia…" She does not want to be cold. Does not want to leave, and most of all does not want to break Amelia's heart. But this is inevitable with what she has become. _Damn you, Elyse_. "I have to leave." She makes her voice sharp, breaking eye contact with Amelia to stride past her and into the kitchen, grabbing her homemade scarf from the couch on the way. "I can't stay here anymore."

"What?" Amelia's voice nearly ruins things. Corinne stops in the doorway, her throat constricting. She does not want to do this. "What are you talking about? This is your _home_." The human follows Corinne, takes her hands, presses her body against the vampire's. Corinne's eyes stray to Amelia's perfect breasts, barely concealed by the dress she is wearing. She wants so badly to stay here, to sleep with her lover once more, for things to be the way they were. But it will not happen. Things are different. Weakness is not allowed.

"I—I can't explain. I just have to go, okay? It was great. You and me. You know I love you." She swallows. "Maybe I'll be back sometime."

Corinne turns away and walks into the kitchen, her stride brisk. "I'll help you unpack the groceries." Refrigerator door: open. Place food on the correct shelves. She tries not to look at Amelia's face but fails. She knows she is crying. She knows she hurt the human, the girl she loves. She wants so badly to take her with her, but ending Amelia's life and introducing her to what Corinne has become would be too selfish.

Tears spill over and slide down Amelia's gorgeous cheeks. She twists her fingers together, bites her lip, stares intently at the pale green walls of the kitchen like nothing has ever been more interesting. "Why?" Her voice is raspy because she is holding back her sobs.

Corinne caves. She goes to Amelia and wraps her arms around the girl's waist. Amelia turns her face away in an attempt to stop the hurt, but Corinne is stronger. She kisses the tears from her cheeks, then moves to the human's lips. They are salty from the tears. Soft. Warm. Amelia's lips. So familiar, so comforting. Both of them need comfort and Corinne cannot supply it. _A vampire cannot…dammit, whatever I am, I am damned. I can't help her. I can only leave her now so it will hurt less_.

Amelia pulls away from the too- short embrace first. "Go." Her voice has hardened. "Don't drag it out, Corinne. Just go if that was your plan, yeah?"

Corinne grinds her teeth, trying to make her body relax. "I can't change this. I have to go. I wish I didn't—I want to stay with you--" She cuts herself off before she loses control. Pretends this is just a test. Just a nightmare. Avoiding Amelia's eyes—it is better to convince herself she is a coward rather than a monster—she turns on her heels and walks down the hallway to the bedroom. There is not much she wants to take—just her wallet, a box of keepsakes, the money she has kept safe in the back of the closet that is enough for her to get by on her own. She throws these things into a bag along with a jacket, the scarf, and a dress. Elyse will provide for the rest.

Corinne pockets her key to the apartment. She wants to have the assurance that if she is able to return someday, she has the means to do so. Then there are no more words. Brushing past Amelia (who has frozen in place in the middle of the hallway), Corinne squeezes the human's hand. _I'm sorry_, she says, sending the words silently into her mind. She makes the mistake of looking back as she is closing the door behind her.

She knows the look of betrayal, of horror, of pain, on Amelia's face as she leaves will haunt her forever.

-vVv-

"I'm not going anywhere with you tonight."

Corinne turns away from Elyse, her body language—stiff posture, folded arms—clearly revealing her anger. She keeps her lips pressed tight, her chin pointed up. Anything to make sure she doesn't cry. Monsters don't cry.

"I can hunt on my own. Or not at all."

"That's ridiculous," Elyse snaps, stalking towards the younger vampire. She crosses the room in a second and grips Corinne's arm tightly. "You are _my_ fledgling. It is _my_ job to take care of you until you can survive in this world alone. You have a lot to learn." _I would know. My sire never taught me._ Piercing indigo eyes glare into Corinne's, but the fledgling doesn't back down.

" I can't believe you," she hisses. "I can't believe you would take someone away from the life they were living to become _this!_" She bares her fangs. "I loved someone, you know! I _had_ someone that cared for me. Maybe you didn't, so you wouldn't know how that feels, would you? I had to break Amelia's heart. Are you happy now? Happy with what you've done?"

Elyse narrows her eyes, her brows pulling together. "You should be honored that you are my first fledgling, Corinne. You have no idea of my kind's history, do you? You don't know that my sire is one of the oldest in the vampire community. Or that I spent 100 hundred years searching for you, the woman I would change first."

Corinne wrenches her arm from her sire's grip and spits out the words: "I don't care. Fuck you."

A mistake is an error in judgment, a misguided action. This is what Corinne has made. Before the words even sink in, the younger vampire is caught in a grip so strong she could not even attempt to escape from it. Someone's cold breath slides across the skin of her throat and then there are the fangs, sliding into the neck, opening a wound from which Elyse drinks. She makes it purposely painful, a punishment for her fledgling's rude words. Corinne wants to scream, she wants to writhe, but the death grip keeps her in place and makes the feed even more painful. She can feel her skin ripping from Elyse's teeth, can feel the blood trickling down her chest. This is no lesson; this is torture. Elyse is _furious_.

Then the bloodlust attacks Corinne. Her muscles tighten and become taught and she throws herself out of Elyse's arms, sending the older, stronger vampire skidding across the floor. The fledgling stares at her arm, her eyes following the blood that slides over flawless skin, toned muscles. And suddenly she finds herself licking her own arm, lapping up her own vampiric blood in a frenzy, eager for the rich taste.

And Elyse is standing again, leaning against the wall, watching. _You didn't give me a chance to warn you of my temper_, she chides silently. The room is black. Elyse's eyes shine and Corinne's are drawn to her own blood. She drinks, tongue sliding over her arm until the blood is gone, until the wound at her throat has healed.

And Elyse is laughing, nearly cackling, because the fledgling is staring across the room in horror, finally realizing what she has done.

-vVv-

_I hate you._

Corinne stares murder at her sire from her seat three tables away at the nightclub frequented by their kind. She is wearing the dress she stuffed in her bag when she left Amelia's because the blood wouldn't come out of her other clothes. Elyse tells her there will be a scar. A reminder not to curse at a vampire stronger than her own self, a reminder be respectful. Corinne is digging her long fingernails into her own palms in order to keep herself from lashing out in anger. She is surrounded by others of her kind—other vampires that are much older, much more controlled, much more beautiful. The voices blend together and bounce off the mirrored walls, making Corinne flinch from the noise. She hates loud places. She glances at her sire again and sees her laughing, knows she heard the silent retort. Corinne can only scoff in frustration and turn away.

When she scans the room for something else to occupy her interest, one particular woman catches her eye. Two, really. They are in a corner, sharing a chair; one sits on the other's lap. At first Corinne figures the one on top is feeding on the other, but then she realizes the vampire is kissing the other's neck. The one in the chair moves her hand from where it is caressing the other woman's waist to her jaw, turning her face so their lips meet. Corinne watches them kiss. A shiver runs through her: jealousy, arousal.

"That is Fala and Moira."

Corinne turns away quickly in surprise to face the speaker: a male vampire, dark-skinned, with emerald eyes and a hint of a smile hovering about his mouth. She recognizes him from her brief glimpses into Elyse's mind; his name is Jager, and he is the one that changed Elyse. Corinne blinks and smiles sardonically. "They're interesting."

Jager snorts. "They don't care who's watching. They'll go on all night."

Corinne watches as the dark-haired girl, the one sitting on the other's lap—Moira—runs her hand through her lover's hair and down her arm, then leans forward, licks Fala's cheek. In other situations this action might have been odd, but it suits the couple.

It reminds Corinne too much of Amelia. She turns back to Jager, downs the drink he pushed in front of her in one swallow. "I have to go. Lovely meeting you." She smirks at him, pushes herself to her feet, watches him wave with an all-knowing look on his face. Disgusted, she passes her sire without a thought and steps out of the bar.

She doesn't remember how it happened, but in the past week she has picked up the human habit of cigarette smoking. It might be an awful habit, but it can't hurt her. And it makes her feel more human, more mortal to pretend she is slowly killing herself with carcinogens. Pretense. That is what this life as a vampire is based on. And she despises it. She shakes her head, stops thinking, knocks a cigarette out of the pack and into her hand. Lights it, takes a drag, watches the blue-tinted smoke curl in the air in front of her. The street is dark; for whatever reason the streetlights are not lit. But the street is empty, and she takes the opportunity to walk, alone, her knee-high leather boots thudding gently with every step. Her mind wanders back to Fala and Moira; the darkness spurs such thoughts.

Did they fall in love first, and one changed the other so they could be together? That would be an act of selfishness. Or did they find each other after they were brought into this dark life? Corinne wants to believe the latter, although she doubts it. She doesn't want to consider the first option. Because that would make her a coward. She would be nothing but weak for not changing Amelia, like Moira and Fala did for each other. There are a million questions running through her head: did she leave Amelia to her human life for Amelia's own good? Or because she is afraid of eternal commitment? Is she selfish or selfless?

_When was the moment,_ Corinne wonders as she breathes in the cigarette smoke deeply, _when I ceased to be a human and became a monster? Was it when I killed that man, or when I walked away from the one person that had ever loved me?_


End file.
